Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time.

Also, I forgot to acknowledge that the idea for this story came from a guest user, so thank you to them!

Another note: As I mentioned in my other story, my medical knowledge is slim to none, so please excuse all the inaccuracies.

I hope you enjoy!

Flames. Hot. Burning.

Jack struggled to crawl out of the burning building, his entire body taken over by the searing heat. He could see the doorway. Only a few feet away.

Close.

He was nearly at the opening, freedom and relief in sight, as a beam from the ceiling of the building came cascading down. It landed with a thud so deafening that it challenged the loud crackles and pops of the flames.

Feeling his hope drain from him, Jack looked up to the ceiling where the beam had come from. Suddenly, another one was descending upon him.

Three feet from his head

Two.

One.

He awoke with a loud gasp, shooting up from the couch. Panicked eyes surveying the room, he realized where he was and began to calm down as the familiar furniture and walls came into his sight.

Just a dream, just a dream, he repeated in his head.

After the adrenalin had dripped from his body, he became aware of the throb emanating from his arm. Wincing profusely, he raised his bandaged limb up to his eyes, sighing at the blood seeping through the white wrap. He spread his fingers out and then made a fist, just then realizing how much the injury had reduced his strength. He clenched his teeth as he did this, trying to suppress a small cry from escaping his lips and waking the other horsemen.

"Jack?"

The sleight jumped at the voice, soon recognizing it to be the tired croak of J. Daniel Atlas. He strained his eyes to look through the darkness until he made out Danny's lanky silhouette approaching the coach.

"Are you ok?" Danny asked, slowly sitting down next to Jack.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Jack answered wearily, just above a whisper. "Just a bad dream."

Danny nodded, showing more sympathy than Jack had ever seen from him. It was strangely comforting.

"How's your arm?" Danny asked, reaching over to the bandage.

Jack recoiled slightly, not wanting to worsen the already throbbing pain. However, the brisk movement sent new waves of agony, making him wince. Danny stopped his reach and looked up at Jack.

"Not good, I assume," he said softly, noting the pained reaction. He met Jack's eyes, fear-ridden and exhausted with pain.

Jack nodded. "Yeah... It hurts..." he croaked, words lacking their usual sharpness.

"A lot?"

"...Yeah."

"Can I see?"

Jack met Danny's eyes, the same fear and apprehension present. Despite this, he nodded slowly.

Danny smiled weakly. He continued his reach and gently gripped Jack's hand, leading the arm to his leg and then resting it there. He gingerly cradled the scorched limb, gazing concernedly at the red stains.

Jack let out a small gasp at the movement, sounding more like a squeak than a pained inhale.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled with guilt.

"No, it-it's ok," Jack said hoarsely, fighting to keep the pain from entering his speech.

Danny returned his focus to Jack's arm. He lightly brushed his fingers over the bandage, his concern growing when they returned damp with red.

"Can we go to the table? I need to rebandage it."

Without a word, Jack extended his good arm towards Danny who stood up, grabbed Jack's hand, and slowly pulled him to his feet. He swayed a bit at first, and once dizziness stopped harassing his vision, he followed Danny into the other room.

Danny flicked the light switch, only powering the single light that hung above the circular table. The two sat down near each other, the med kid that Danny had used the previous night awaiting their arrival.

Jack laid his bandaged arm out in front of him, slowly lowering it until it made contact with the tabletop. He grimaced at the movement, relieved when his arm was finally rested on the surface.

Opening the med kit, Danny retrieved the roll of gauze, a few large bandaids and some wipes. He then looked to Jack as if to tell him that he was ready. Jack returned the gaze, his eyes present, but his mind far-off.

A flinch rattled through Jack as Danny reached out and gently laid his fingers on the bandage. Locating the end of it, he began unwrapping the gauze, elevating Jack's arm above the table.

"Shit, Jack," Danny muttered. The bandaids that he had placed over the wound last night were drowned in blood, the red substance still flowing lazily from the burns.

Jack sighed and rested his head on his good arm, head titled but eyes remaining on the burn.

Danny slowly removed each of the soaked bandaids, fishing each out of the pool of red.

The sight was beginning to make Jack's stomach turn, so he focused his attention elsewhere. His eyes fell upon the clock on the wall. 3:17.

"Danny?"

He looked up from his work like an interrupted surgeon, although he wasn't annoyed, just surprised at Jack's voice.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you-" Jack inhaled sharply and let out a small gasp. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment but then forced them back open to see what had caused the spike in pain.

Danny looked up at him reluctantly, but continued to dab the wipe into the wound in efforts to sop up some of the blood.

"Why... Why are you up...so late?" Jack continued, labored breathing due to the agony. Danny was still forcing cotton into the burn to capture the blood, but Jack had gotten used to the pain, which was now more of a severe discomfort.

Acknowledging the question, Danny shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know, I just couldn't sleep-" he reached for a bandaid "-and it sounded like something was wrong so I came out to see..." He trailed off at the end, not wanting to further explain.

"Shit, did I wake you up? I'm sorry," Jack replied sheepishly.

"No, no, you didn't. I was already up..." Danny ended the sentence as if there was something to come after, but he decided at the last minute to conceal it.

He pretended to be very focused on the gauze pads, as he could feel Jack's questioning gaze on him.

"Why were you-" another pained gasp interrupted him as the gauze was placed deeper into the open wound "-up? I know there's a reason."

Danny let out a defeated breathe, realizing Jack had figured out that there was something else.

"Because... This is my fault. This-" -he gestured to the large red lick of the flame- "-is because I yelled at you to go do something productive because of the goddamn control freak that I am and you ended up charring your arm and now you're in pain and there's nothing I can do. Okay? That's why I was up."

Jack stared at him, astonished at the rambling outburst he had just received. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, Jack broke the heavy silence that a 3am conversation entails.

"It's not your fault. Really. Yeah, you can be a dick when you order us around, but this is not your fault. You didn't tell me to go be an idiot and stick my arm in fire. You didn't personally turn that machine on yourself. This was an accident, that's all. It wasn't anyone's fault."

Jack's early astonished expression was now mirrored on Daniel, expect amplified. He was taken back by the wise words coming from the usual jovial and immature Jack, the kid they all loved to tease and baby. Returning from his thoughts, Daniel smiled his gratitude at Jack, letting out a small laugh to fill the silence.

Danny finished placing the bandages on the burn and then reached for the gauze. He began down by Jack's elbow and started making his way up towards his wrist. As he pulled the gauze over the bandage, Jack winced slightly and held his breath.

"Too tight?" Danny asked worriedly.

Jack shook his head. "No, it's fine, just still hurts a little," he admitted.

"Yeah, a little," Danny teased, smirking slightly.

Jack returned the grin, which was soon covered by another grimace and eyes squeezed shut.

"Sorry, I'm almost done," Danny mumbled, speeding up the last few wraps around Jack's arm.

"Thank...you."

Finishing the bandage, Danny cut the gauze and smoothed it down, then placed the roll in the med kit. He lifted it up and carried it into the other room, returning shortly.

Offering his hand to Jack, Danny pulled him to his feet like before, and they retraced their path back to the couch.

Jack sat down slowly, cognizant of the placement of his arm. He opted to rest it gently in his lap to reduce the jostling.

Watching him carefully, Danny was happy to see a signifiant reduction in the grimaces and gasps that Jack had suffered from before. However, he still appeared to be in discomfort, but nonetheless, progress had been made.

"How is it feeling?" Danny asked, folding his arms over his chest like a worried parent.

"It's better," Jack replied, looking up at Danny who was practically hovering over him. "I think it's more sore than anything."

Danny nodded, agreeing with what had been said. "It'll be like that for a while. And you'll have a pretty nasty scar."

Jack shrugged. "I can live with that."

Smiling at his optimism, Danny unfolded his arms from his chest and shoved them into his pockets, assuming a more relaxed position. They looked at each other through the darkness (to which their eyes has adjusted) for a few awkward moments before Daniel spoiled the quiet.

"Well...I'm gonna go back to bed. If you need anything, you know where my room is. Night."

He turned and began making his way to his room when Jack's voice cut through the silence: "Will you stay with me?"

Danny faced Jack again, surprised yet delighted at the question, and glad that the darkness was somewhat hiding his childish grin.

He moved back across the room and hovered over the couch until Jack slid over to allow him to sit down. Jack then rested his head on Danny's leg, keeping his arm close by his side.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Danny smiled down at him, hoping that Jack would feel his grin.

"Just don't tell Merritt."

"Awww look at them," Lula whispered, entering the living room with Merritt the next morning.

Daniel had slumped over on the arm of the couch, and Jack had curled into his side. They were both sleeping peacefully, seemingly enjoying each other's company even in their sleep.

Merritt smiled at the two.

"Ten bucks says Danny didn't want me to see this."

Daniel opened his eye slightly, having been listening for the past few minutes.

"Go away, Merritt."

There you go! Hope you enjoyed the story. I know the ending was a little cliché and predictable, but I felt that it was the best way to end the story.

Please read and review; it's greatly appreciated. Also, thank you to all the support and kind reviews that you've already given.

If you have any ideas for another story, PLEASE let me know. I'd be happy to hear! If I do end up using your idea, I will be sure to give you credit.

Thank you again!